News

Bay Area's dry spell continues; chance of fresh snow in Sierra

By Karina Ioffee

Bay Area News Group

Posted:
01/07/2014 02:51:32 PM PST

Updated:
01/07/2014 03:04:06 PM PST

Jim Warren brings his cattle hay on his parched Gilroy ranch Friday, Dec. 27, 2013. As the statewide drought drags on into a new year with no rain in sight, the water shortage tightens its grip on people who most depend on annual rainfall, rural residents whose water comes from springs and wells and ranchers who have to pay increasingly more for feed and hay to keep their cattle and horses that ordinarily might be munching their way through freshly greened winter pastures. (Patrick Tehan/Bay Area News Group)
(
Patrick Tehan
)

The Bay Area will not see any rain this week, forecasters said, intensifying an already dry year that has left creeks low, hills yellowed and farmers worried for their livelihoods.

The National Weather Service forecasts sunny skies throughout the rest of the week, with temperatures in the low to mid 60s. The only region that may see some rain is northern Sonoma and Mendocino counties.

"The weather system will be just brushing by the Bay Area, but will mostly impact the North Bay," said Austin Cross, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The situation is only a little better in the Sierra, where a 25 percent chance of snow is forecast starting on Thursday.

The cause of the state's dry spell is a jet stream that usually brings rain to Northern California lingering in the Pacific Northwest.